Penny Candy

Pottsville Pennsylvania was a travel destination for us in the sixties. That's where my mother and her family lived for a few generations. My grandparents, Grammy and Pappy, aka Alice Dimmerling and Paul Schuettler, raised 4 children in two difference houses located on the same street. 

Laurel Street as I remember it, was a "boulevard" in those days, wider than most streets in that town, with exception of center city.  The street was on a hill west of the city and within walking distance to schools, churches, taverns and ma and pa grocery stores. One of those stores was owned by my Pappy.

Ownership came to Pappy Schuettler after my great grandfather, August, died in 1952. This is when Pappy moved the family from 509 Laurel St. to 504 Laurel St. The store occupied the front of the 3 story row home, complete with its glass-front store window, embossed with A. Schuettler & Sons, and welcoming wide steps leading to the double-door entrance. The family entrance was an unassuming door on the right.

This grocery store was more of an olden day Quik Shoppe. It had convenience items but no fresh vegetables or meats. And it had penny candy!  The candy resided in an oversized oak case with a curved glass front so as not to miss any of the many varieties offered.  I can remember my favorites like watermelon slices, coconut slices, root beer barrels and Mary Janes. There was also red and black licorice, straws filled with flavored powder, fireballs, shoestring licorice, candy cigarettes, gumdrops and tootsie rolls. On the high end, and for a bit more than a penny, you could get peppermint patties, pretzel rods, chocolate bars and candy necklaces. A nickel or a dime would get you an eight ounce brown bag full of fun to share with friends. 

Since my grandfather worked as a "baker man" for Capital Bakery, delivering to homes in the Pottsville area, the store was tended by my Uncle Frank, youngest of the Schuettler kids but already in his twenties.  During our summer visits "up home", my brother and I had the distinct pleasure of helping out in the store. We were in charge of the penny candy case, filling those little bags full of candy for the neighborhood kids (and a few parents) for an afternoon.

My uncle also ordered novelties to sell in the summer, such as kites, pop caps, balloons, yoyos, coloring books to name a few. We had a chance to earn some of these as pay for a "hard days work" at the candy case. We learned many life skills working behind that case.

In the evening before bedtime, Grammy would treat us to a soft drink and pretzel rod or a Dixie cup of ice cream. I can still taste that wooden spoon attached to the ice cream cup lid. My brother and I made that treat last as long as possible. My favorite thing to do was pour soda into the Dixie cup to make a float or dip my pretzel rod into the soda to watch the salt react with the carbonation, then eat the flavored stick.

It's these memories I can recall in a split second as if they happened yesterday...and for that I'm thankful. 

Footnote: 

Fast-forward 2 years from the writing of this blog entry. I never published this piece when it was written in August of 2021, and now I don't recall why. But, in that lapse of time I found a new (but still old) online gaming hobby...making videos of my gaming experience and posting to my YouTube channel. 

I mention this briefly here because I recreated my memory's version of Pappy's store (and the house my grandparent's lived in behind it) while playing a game called House Flipper. I'll let you do the research on the game using this link:House Flipper-Frozen District  

You can watch my YouTube video of Pappy's Store here: Pappy's Store

Lithuanian Days - August 14, 2021

What a day! An hour+ drive to the Schuylkill County Coal Regions for a Lithuanian cousins reunion on one of the hottest days this August. Still, that did not deter our chatter around the open firepit, sans fire, on the grounds of Catalpa Grove at Lakewood Park  for most of the day. The link will drop you on their homepage to view several pictures of this modern rustic venue tucked neatly in the woods, including "our spot".

This day also represented an important date in my history...my birthday!  Though I didn't have a cake, I did enjoy a rendition of Happy Birthday sung to me in Lithuanian by Ken's friend who met up with us at the event; a treat equal to a cake! Since Ron and I were born in the same year, three days apart, he would be celebrating his birthday a few days later. 

Tony, Ken, Ron
Christina, Robin, Kristine

I arrived at noon, as did Ron & Ken, who were in from Michigan the day before. Christina, her mother Robin, and her Uncle Tony, in from Harrisburg PA, had arrived earlier along with her son and brother.  Today was the first time I met Christina and her family in person, another treat!  And that led to the next treat ahead...lunch.  

The event menu, sponsored by the Knights of Lithuania Council #144 Amber District, was true to our recollection of foods our families made during our childhood and beyond. So, during our lunch-around-the-firepit we discussed our grandmothers' recipes and how many we still make.  Missing from the menu, for me, was the potato pancake known as bleenies  (blynai), a favorite of mine that my grandmother made and thankfully taught my mother. I never heard of Bandukes, but was happy to find out they were meatballs... that went very well with my order of Pierogies!  For recipes of these goodies and more, click on                  A Coalcracker in the Kitchen. 

As festival events go, this one was pleasantly low-key on beautiful walkable grounds, complete with vendors of Amber handmade jewelry, souvenirs and crafts, ethnic displays and a local historical society. We also enjoyed ethnic music, roaming men and women in historic costumes and outdoor plays depicting lives of Lithuanians and historical stories told for generations. On a side note, Lithuanians are the great source of information about all things Amber, a fossil resin thousands of years old discovered in the Baltic area in the 1850s.  

My interest in genealogy drew me to the Mahanoy City Historical Society table, where I purchased a book, Lithuanians of Schuylkill County and spoke to Paul, one of the society's knowledgeable volunteers for many years. Paul helped me a few years ago trying to track down an address in Mahanoy City, listed on a ship manifest as a destination for my great grandmother Anna (Ambrazaviciute) Jamitis traveling to America as a single girl from Lithuania. Unfortunately, we could not confirm the address was located in Mahanoy City as stated on the document. Ahh, a day in the life of a family genealogist. 

Our day of family comradery ended with dinner at a favorite local restaurant that Christina and her family frequented when they lived in the area. During our meal, we vowed to meet again next year for as long as we can travel.  The day renewed my desire to jump back into my genealogy records, looking for missed clues or new information since my last research spurt. Using online archive sites, I can say with certainty I found several gems to share with my cousins and a few more to help confirm research questions stagnant on my family tree for a few years.

Fun stuff if you're me 😁!

Hello Again & The Garden

After a long hiatus from blogging and genealogy in general, it seems time to get back to swinging among the family tree branches again. ⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙

During my absence, I pursued genealogy blogs and caught up on newsletters not read. I'm getting the itch to plan a research trip again, but the Lithuanian brick wall gives me pause as does wearing a mask in those facilities still requiring one to enter.  It would also be more fun traveling with a friend or meeting up with family for a common tree branch dive once again. Still on my to-do list, though.

This August there is an event called Lithuanian Days at Lakewood Park in eastern Pennsylvania. The link here Lithuanian Days will take you to Facebook event page with more info. It's just over an hour from my location and during my birthday weekend! Attending is on my list, perhaps with a friend and/or family from Michigan. Maybe there's a polka or two in my future. 🎶♬♫🎝

This past year I met a new friend at the bowling lanes. We are both in the summer Senior League and by happenstance began talking about family history. When I found we both had Lithuanian heritage and she already traveled to the motherland, I wanted to hear more. After a summer lunch served in my friend's cozy townhome, we spent an afternoon sharing memories and family histories. Maybe there's a polka in her future too. 

And I want to mention that my gardener, aka my husband Carl, is successfully tending to the plot located in the SE corner of our backyard. His green thumb gives us a chance to enjoy fresh vegetables all summer and to share the fruits of his labor with friends and neighbors. In abundance now are cucumbers and peppers. Soon we will have eggplant and tomatoes. Lastly, and new to the garden, is cantaloupe. One plant has taken over the garden, competing with the single cucumber plant for half the space! 

In fact, a current third picture would show almost no back fence from all the trails of vines from these two plants, much like a FAMILY TREE !

I'm personally looking forward to the tomato harvest to make as much pasta sauce as I can. Perhaps I should research recipes my Lithuanian "Nanny" Edith Jamitis Goodman made from her garden harvest in the 50s and 60s.  Like tomato jelly, cold tomato salad and pickles. Her entire pantry was full of many varieties of canned vegetables at summer's end each year. I can picture her garden and the pantry as clear as day.

Well, I've made myself hungry talking about the garden, so off to make lunch. If you got this far, thanks so much for hanging out with me. Talk to you soon!

Today's the Day

Heading off to Schuylkill County shortly in search of my Lithuanian ancestors' story.  I'm rarely late for any event and this is no exception. It's a curse sometimes because I'm too early and have to fill the time until I leave the house. So, here I am!

My Surface Pro tablet, paper tablets, phone, chargers, extra glasses (you never know, I could drop my only pair in excitement of a find!) and several pens...check, check, check.

My cousin called ahead and found the courthouse staff very helpful, digging out a few items for us to get a head start. I have several indexes to pull in case the staff cannot locate anything for us by surname. I already told you about the Lithuanian surname debacle, so this will be no surprise. The indexes will keep this trip from becoming a bust.

Once I get the hang of archive research, I'm quite sure this trip will be one of many.  The Lithuanians are my main concern, but I want to know more about my German, Irish and English branch, too.

Stay tuned...

Anticipation

After years of researching my family tree, I'm finally going to take the next step in the process. My first trip to a repository to search government archives is a week away.  My anticipation is ramping up for two reasons. Excitement for learning more about the Lithuanian branch of my tree is one.

The other is meeting my 2nd cousin for the first time.  Ken is making the trip from Michigan with his brother (who is my grandmother's godson) to meet me at the Schuylkill County Courthouse.  I have an hour drive, he has much more, but our drive to find facts about our family tree branch is equal.

Our immediate search is for family of Anna Jamitis, Peter's wife. Anna is our mutual great grandmother.  Our grandmothers were sisters Helen and Edith.  Though we know more about Anna than Peter, the mystery man, there are some leads Ken has exposed from a connection in Lithuania that we want to prove or disprove about Anna's family and the stories told to us. It's an important direction to pursue on our first trip to the archives.

Above is a picture Ken and I believe is Anna and Peter. We received it from a Lithuanian contact. I hesitate adding photos without a solid fact to accompany them. I personally think this couple is my great grandparents. Findings from this trip may help confirm this scenario.

I'm taking my tablet filled with facts and assumptions from my years of research. But, I've narrowed down and summarized the points of interest for this trip using Evernote, my favorite note-taking organizer software program.  It holds copies of census records, maps, death certs and obituaries from the newspapers plus docket information to look up marriage applications, wills and tax records.  The assumptions are at the ready to pursue the trail should we find collaborating evidence.

A new adventure in the new year...stay tuned....

A Wedding Feast

As you read in an earlier post, Peter and Anna's young life and their arrival from Lithuania is a mystery. I never met them which is all the more reason to get to know their story. I met their children, my great aunts and uncles, at an early age and can recall specific events in Schuylkill County we were all together.

Since I lived in Reading, these occasions were mostly weddings and funerals.  As a young girl, I was in awe of the elaborate feasts presented to attendees. I was equally naive about the person feted at these "up home" events since my place in the family was a granddaughter or great niece of the extended family we were visiting. So, after introductions to my elders and being compared to myself in size from the last time they saw me, my attention turned to the abundance of food tabled for the occasion.

Specifically, weddings. My brother and I never saw anything like it. A fire company hall or church social hall held long tables, end to end, filling the space to capacity less the obligatory dance floor.  Each table was served home-style with bottomless dishes of the most delicious food we ever had in our short lives. But, wait there's more.

The caterers cleared the tables, the guests mingled with the bride and groom and the band began to play.  And as if by magic, there appeared on each table various homemade cakes.  Not just one cake, several cakes per table...chocolate, spice, applesauce and carrot are the ones that caught my attention.  And eat we did.

These memories are so embedded in my mind because our family meals rarely included seconds or desserts. It's not to say we starved or felt deprived. My mother just followed the way she learned growing up in a German heritage home. Frugal covers it for the most part. And as I reflect now, the events were mainly on my father's side. The Lithuanians.  Add dancing the polka to this mix and this seven year old had the time of her life.

The Mystery Man

Most of my research in the last 6 months has been reexamining my family tree information for my Great Grandfather Peter Jamitis in my paternal line. Peter was Lithuanian, though at times the historic records show him as Russian, Russian-Polander, Russian-Lithuanian and Prussian.  I've determined this is due to the regime his birth home was ruled by when he answered the question of nationality on census forms, draft records or his marriage application. Lithuania had several border changes during his lifetime.

There's also issues with surname spellings.  I've seen Zamitis, Zemaitis, Gemaitis, Zamitus, Zimits...you get the idea. Jamitis is the only spelling I knew until I started my family tree. This issue alone made the research process lengthy within the United States record repositories.  Image this Lithuanian answering port authority's questions to board the ship for America and a census-taker's ears hearing this new language probably for the first time.  Phonetic spelling of surnames was most likely the option taken in this instance.

Peter is a mystery from the time he was born in 1870 until I find him in Pennsylvania in 1899 applying for a license to marry Anna Ambrosavage, also a Lithuanian who immigrated to the United States. And don't let Anna's surname spelling comfort you... that's another post.

I see him with Anna and their first born in the 1900 census and the next three censuses through 1930. Each census adds more children and more conflicting information, mainly event dates. Naturalization records have escaped me even with 1903 recorded as the year this citizenship event happened.  I was so hoping to find the petition or the application for Peter for there is much to mine from these records, opening the gate to finding his place of birth in Eastern Europe.

My next step is to visit the courthouse and search for wills, deeds, land records and the like. It will be my first time researching physical records and it's a fact that visits to your ancestor's county seat can unblock the the wall when online indexes and documents are fruitless.  Perhaps starting with the physical records was the best plan for Peter.  In hindsight, yes. But the enormous amount of online records available to genealogists the last several years is hard to resist from the comfort of your own home.